In the production of solar cells, the wafers as a rule pass through a process chain having a plurality of stations. To this end, it is advantageous to use automated transport devices. In some sections of the process chain, it has to be ensured that a contact between the wafers and the transport device is avoided. To this end, the wafers are held, for example, on two edges which lie opposite one another. It may be disadvantageous here that the wafers are often damaged at the wafer edges. Moreover, there is the risk of contaminating the wafers in the region of their edges.